


Buffed

by chibi_zoe



Category: Naruto
Genre: Attraction, Gen, Jealousy, M/M, Mission Fic, Team Dynamics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-03
Updated: 2015-03-27
Packaged: 2018-03-19 21:10:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3624378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chibi_zoe/pseuds/chibi_zoe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone is creating wax clones and using them to attack Konoha.  Gai, Kakashi and Tenzou have been given a mission to find out who it is and put a stop to it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Title: Buffed pt1  
Author: chibi-zoe  
Series: Naruto  
Pairing: Gai + Kakashi + Tenzou  
Rating: G  
Summary: Someone is creating wax clones and using them to attack Konoha. Gai, Kakashi and Tenzou have been given a mission to find out who it is and put a stop to it.

Taking one last look in the mirror at the state of his teeth, Gai flashed himself a thumbs-up and turned to pick up his gear. Locking his door, his slipped the key under the mat and set off for the gates. He and Kakashi had a mission. A mission without their young teams, which was rather a nice change, and even if they did have Kakashi’s interfering shadow with them, Gai was rather looking forward to it. Arriving at the gates, he was very surprised to see the wood-user, Tenzou, chivvying Kakashi down the main street. Jealousy roiled in Gai’s stomach at the way that his Rival just passively accepted the pushiness of his former subordinate. Scowling, he turned to face the gate ninja and signed himself out.

Turning over all the information available about their mission, Kakashi idly allowed Tenzou to direct where they were going. This was his former ANBU subordinates first mission as a regular jounin, and the man was understandably excited and wanting to make a good impression. Kakashi had reminded him, several times, that it was only Gai who was their cell member and that his Rival was more than used to his lateness, but Tenzou would hear nothing of it and just kept nagging at him. Really, the man was worse than a wife. Kakashi had found himself packed, fed and pushed out the door in an obscenely short amount of time. He hadn’t even had a chance to really commune with the KIA stone.

Mentally patting himself on the back for getting Kakashi to the gates on time, Tenzou smiled at their third member. He hadn’t had a lot to do with Gai and most of his information came from Kakashi, which he took with a grain of salt, so this mission would be interesting on two fronts. Somewhat surprisingly, Gai turned his back on them, making Tenzou worry suddenly about what, exactly, his sempai might have said about him in reply to Gai’s questions. Signing himself out, he compared Gai’s bold and forceful writing and Kakashi’s messy scrawl to his own careful printing. If people’s personalities were really reflected in their handwriting, then this mission was going to be interesting.

Flitting through the trees, Gai tried to keep his mind on their mission. They had had a brief team meeting to come to an agreement on where they were going, what they expected to find, and what to do if there was any enemy action. It had been somewhat soothing to watch the wood-user assume a more professional face and to actually contribute meaningfully to their discussion. At least the man wasn’t completely incompetent, even if he was totally infatuated with Kakashi. Thoughts of his Rival had Gai’s head turning slightly to catch a glimpse of wind-blown silver hair. A single eye quirked at him, and he flushed, turning hurriedly back to watch where he was going. This mission did not bode well at all.

Wondering what had upset Gai so much, Kakashi’s lone eye kept flicking over to his Rival, the man was acting completely out of character and it was disturbing. When he finally managed to catch the other man’ eye, Gai actually blushed and turned away. Wondering faintly if this mission was more of a death trap, Kakashi started analysing everything he knew about the possible perpetrators and how he and Tenzou could bring them down by themselves. He didn’t have to turn his head to know that his wood-using colleague was travelling easily; they had gone out far harder and faster when they had been in ANBU together. He knew that he could rely on Tenzou no matter what.

As the trees flickered past, Tenzou wondered at the odd vibe coming from Gai. The way that the man was acting was really odd. Everything that Kakashi had told him about the man had indicated that he was totally professional, if rather loud and over the top. It made him wonder about what was different this time around. He was still pondering over what it could be when they reached the sight of the most recent attack. Carefully scanning the area, they dropped to the ground and moved in closer. The clean-up team had already been in and immolated the bodies, but there was more than enough evidence scattered around the area to provide a clear indication of what had happened.

Looking at the strange marks on the tree-trunks around them and the way that the leaf-litter was disturbed, not to mention the complete lack of wax in the area and it was obvious that whoever it was creating these wax monstrosities did not have an endless supply and was collecting the leftovers to be reused. Sharing his suppositions with Kakashi, he received a quick eye-smile as his Rival slowly rose to his feet; the graceful way that he moved drawing Gai’s attention away from their surroundings. Shaking his head slightly at his own idiocy, he turned to see what, if anything, the wood-user had found. The fact that the man had nothing new to add was a balm to Gai’s ego.

Wondering what had gotten into Gai, Kakashi bit his thumb and summoned Pakkun, ordering the small dog to sniff around and see how many different scents there were in the clearing. His summons’ sensitive nose picked up the three dead Konoha ninja, the two clean-up squad members and one strange-smelling extra person. Pakkun couldn’t relate to him exactly what was strange about it, other than the fact that he’d never smelt anything like it before. Troubled, Kakashi looked at his teammates and suggested that they follow the scent as far as they could before dusk, and that they then camp and continue in the morning. Receiving two affirmative nods, he followed Pakkun’s leap into the trees.

Bringing up the rear of their little convoy, Tenzou kept his eyes restlessly scanning the surrounding forest. Post ANBU re-integration into Konoha’s regular ninja units was generally a difficult task, but Tenzou was determined to fit in with as little fuss as possible. He didn’t want be remembered as a man who had gone from ANBU captain to jounin rookie and been killed on his first team mission. As the sun slipped below the horizon, the four of them dropped down into a convenient clearing. At a nod from Kakashi, Tenzou quickly created a small wooden hut for them to sleep in. Kakashi and Pakkun said nothing as they stepped inside, but Gai stopped to compliment him on his jutsu. Tenzou blushed at the praise.

Gritting his perfect teeth, Gai smiled at the wood-user and forced a positive comment out of his seized throat. The instant hut looked like it would be more than useful on this mission, even if Kakashi’s easy familiarity with the structure sent prickles of spite up his spine. The way that the former ANBU blushed and cast his gaze at the ground, made Gai want to scream and pound the man’s head against his own structure. Men should not act like that. Men should be strong and capable and able to take praise stoically. Shaking his head slightly, he pushed past the man and entered the hut. It was rather basic, but it did have enough space for the three men to lie down side by side.

Ignoring his colleagues for the moment, Kakashi laid out his bedroll and then sat upon it. Drawing several deep breaths, he centred himself and strove for calm, clear, thoughts. He pushed his awareness of Gai and Tenzou’s interaction from his mind and concentrated on his meditations. When he felt that the minor irritations of the day had ceased to bother him, he mentally went over all of mission data again, looking for something that he might have missed the first time around. Confident in himself, he opened his eyes to see Tenzou watching Gai do his regular nightly push-ups. Rather surprised that his Rival felt comfortable enough for his regular nightly routine, he pulled a ration bar from his pack and took a bite.

Gai’s muscles were seriously impressive, and Tenzou watched the way that they rippled and flexed enviously. His own musculature was leaner, although not as lean as Kakashi’s, but he’d always wanted a body like the one that Gai was clearly so proud of. A crunching sound to his left had him turning to see Kakashi holding half a ration bar and chewing industriously. His sempai was watching Gai critically, and after a moment, he rose to his feet and plonked himself unceremoniously onto the other mans’ back. Gai merely grunted a brief thanks and kept moving. Swallowing the urge to make an inappropriate comment, Tenzou instead turned to merge the door into the hut, effectively locking them inside.

The familiar weight of Kakashi on his back soothed Gai’s raw nerves. He didn’t want to strain himself by exerting too much energy, and restricted himself to exactly half of what he normally did. Manfully ignoring Kakashi’s barely voiced comments on the fact that the hut was windowless, and how he’d better not work up too much of a sweat, Gai leapt to his feet the moment that he was finished, laughing heartily at his Rival’s startled yelp. The wood user shot him an odd look at his actions before rolling out his bedroll beside Kakashi’s. Due to the fact that Kakashi had already picked the far corner, this meant that Gai would be sleeping between the door and their younger team-mate. He already knew that he wasn’t going to sleep well.

Sighing to himself, Kakashi slipped into his bedroll and turned his back on his colleagues. There was definitely something very wrong with Gai. He hadn’t reacted in his usual way to Kakashi’s taunts and he’d eaten his ration bar without as much as a disagreeable expression. Wondering if his Rival had already been the victim of the wax-user, and they were sharing their tight little hut with a homicidal clone, he slipped a kuani into each hand and faked falling asleep. Beside him, Tenzou quickly fell into the light doze favoured by ANBU but from the far end there was nothing but silence. Not even the sound of Gai’s breathing was discernable. Kakashi tightened his grip.

Wondering why his sempai was faking sleep, Tenzou copied him wishing that he had a weapon in his hand. On his other side was nothing but silence and he felt a cold shiver make its way up his spine, no sleeping ninja was ever totally silent - it was too obvious. He was right on the verge of reaching out and trying to communicate with Kakashi using tactile hand signs, when a soft snort sounded right behind his shoulder, nearly causing him to jump nervously, followed by the soft sounds of a sleeping nin. In front of him, he could almost taste the tension seeping out of Kakashi’s frame and resisted the urge to fidget. It was going to be a long night, he just knew it. 

A light touch to his shoulder had Gai instantly awake. He looked up into the wood-users’ dark eyes and then flicked his gaze to meet Kakashi’s. His teammates were wide awake and very worried. Raising a querying eyebrow, he cursed silently as he read Kakashi’s field signs. There were an unknown number of enemy ninja outside. They were trapped. Silently rising to his feet and packing away his bedroll, he prepared himself for battle. Squatting in the middle of the hut, they discussed and discarded various strategies before settling on one. They would leave the hut via Earth jutsu and head out in opposite directions, taking out as many of the enemy as they could and meeting back up in this same general vicinity within the next two days if possible. Raising his hands, Gai nodded encouragingly at each of his colleagues and then whispered the words of the justu.


	2. Buffed Pt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone is creating wax clones and using them to attack Konoha. Gai, Kakashi and Tenzou have been given a mission to find out who it is and put a stop to it.

Title: Buffed pt 2  
Author: chibi-zoe  
Series: Naruto  
Pairing: Gai + Kakashi + Tenzou  
Rating: G  
Summary: Someone is creating wax clones and using them to attack Konoha. Gai, Kakashi and Tenzou have been given a mission to find out who it is and put a stop to it.

Kakashi

Earth jutsu really weren’t his strong point and Kakashi was forced to surface far earlier than he would have liked. A kunai landing near his head was enough to launch him skywards, kicking up a cloud of dust as he did so, in order to hide the fact that he was creating a lightning clone. Sending his clone one way and striking out himself in the opposite direction, Kakashi ducked and wove and tried to get into a position where he could clearly see his attacker. It took a lot of work, and several near misses, before he was finally able to swap his body with a handy log and lie low in some convenient bushes. His enemy was crafty, and silence settled over the clearing.

The returning memories from his vanquished clone nearly made him flinch, but he held himself still at the last minute. The clone hadn’t quite been as lucky in finding somewhere to hide as he had been, but it had gotten a glimpse of their attacker in its last few moments. Slender and pale with long blood-red hair. Kakashi was unsure if it was a man or a woman, but the fact that the clone had ceased to exist without seeing the blow that killed it was testament to their enemy’s strength. Hoping that Gai and Tenzou had gotten away easily, seeing as their enemy was chasing him, Kakashi settled in for a long, drawn-out battle.

Slowly and stealthily, Kakashi circled around to where the clone had disappeared. He kept scanning the surrounding forest for signs that the other was loitering nearby, but saw nothing other than a lot of disturbed vegetation indicating that a fight had taken place. He tried to analyse the pattern of destruction, using his clones’ memories as a starting point, but it refused to make any sense. It was almost as if their enemy was trying to make him believe that a second fight had taken place here, but hadn’t the training to make staging a scene believable. Unless of course the enemy was merely trying to make him think that they were under-trained to make him careless.

Worried by his own reasoning, Kakashi looked around cautiously before starting to creep around the little pocket of destroyed forest, checking carefully for any small signs that might indicate that a ninja was trying to hide their presence. When he was half way around the clearing, he stopped suddenly and peered intently at the ground a few inches outside of the bush he was hiding in. It looked like a small drop of wax had dripped onto a large leaf. Daringly, he reached out a hand to snag the leaf and brought it up to his eye to examine it more closely. It looked like an ordinary drop of red candle wax to him, but there was no smell, not even a faint trace of beeswax. 

Twisting the leaf in the light, Kakashi noticed that it reflected the light in a way that he would’ve expected, and when he carefully prodded it with his fingertip, it felt like regular wax. Deciding that he would need to examine it with his sharingan to see if there was any jutsu affecting it, he raised he hand to his hitae-ate. Then, to his astonishment, the whole leaf turned red and melted, running like warm wax through his fingers, causing a cloud of something to rise up to clog his nostrils. His last thought before he lost consciousness was the vain hope that his teammates wouldn’t also fall prey to such an obvious ploy.

Tenzou and Gai

From his position inside the tree-trunk, Tenzou stared down at the site below him. Shrouded in shadows and huddled together in the hollow left by an enormous deadfall were Kakashi, Gai and Tenzou himself. From his vantage point he couldn’t tell if all three were wax clones, or if it was only his own likeness. Torn between staying hidden and shadowing the group to see if he could determine if the others were real or not, and revealing himself by proving that the other Tenzou was a fake at the risk of being caught facing three wax clones by himself, Tenzou hedged his bets by moving slightly closer. He really needed to find out if the Kakashi and Gai sitting down there were real or fake.

Sitting beside the fake Kakashi on the log, Gai felt a distinct prickle between his shoulder blades. He still wasn’t sure about the Tenzou sitting across from him as he hadn’t spent quite enough time with the wood-user to be easily able to tell. Kakashi on the other hand, was a rather good copy, he looked and sounded the same as the real Kakashi, but all of the, nearly sub-vocal, pithy comments were missing. Not that this really surprised Gai all that much. In order to hear Kakashi’s commentary, you had to be right next to him, he had to trust you, and you had to know that it was him because he never, ever, moved his mouth when making his little observations.

Reasonably sure that the Kakashi down there was a wax clone as well, Tenzou couldn’t believe that his sempai could possibly be sitting so casually opposite a fake likeness of himself, he focused his observations on Gai. He had spent quite a lot of time on this mission scrutinising the tai-jutsu specialist, particularly his wonderful musculature, but whilst the man was just sitting there, it was rather difficult to tell. Ever so slowly, he moved his body within the woody embrace of the tree, closer to where the three were sitting. Eventually Gai got up to relieve himself, and Tenzou almost dropped out of the tree to surprise the other man with an ANBU hold, but then he remembered at the last minute that Gai and Kakashi had been sparring for years, Gai probably knew how to turn the move against him.

Feeling eyes on him as he watered the bushes, Gai tried to unobtrusively scan the surrounding forest. It was surprisingly difficult to continue in his mundane task when he knew that there was someone out there, possibly someone with murderous intent. Then, he suddenly wondered if it was the real Kakashi or the real Tenzou out there, trying to determine if he was the real Gai. No, it couldn’t be the real Kakashi, his Eternal Rival knew him well enough, or could look at him with the Sharingan, and easily determine that he was not made of wax, which meant that it had to be the real Tenzou, or possibly it was another wax clone designed to make him drop his guard. 

The way that Gai was concentrating on his business was surprisingly odd. Most shinobi were extra alert at such vulnerable moments, and Tenzou couldn’t decide if it was the real Gai thinking hard about something, or a fake Gai trying to lure him out with a show of inattention. As he watched the man zip himself back up again, Tenzou suddenly wondered if a wax clone would need to relieve itself at all. After all, a being made entirely of wax probably wouldn’t have any excess water to get rid of, right? It was fuzzy reasoning to Tenzou’s mind, and he decided against revealing himself right away. He would shadow the group for the next twenty-four hours or so and observe the groups’ interactions and activities.


	3. Buffed Pt 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone is creating wax clones and using them to attack Konoha. Gai, Kakashi and Tenzou have been given a mission to find out who it is and put a stop to it.

Title: Buffed pt3  
Author: chibi-zoe  
Series: Naruto  
Pairing: Gai + Kakashi + Tenzou  
Rating: G  
Summary: Someone is creating wax clones and using them to attack Konoha. Gai, Kakashi and Tenzou have been given a mission to find out who it is and put a stop to it.

Kakashi awoke feeling groggy and sore, with a bitter taste in the back of his throat. The first thought that popped into his head, was that he must’ve gone home with either Gai or Tenzou after a night out on the town to be feeling so miserable this morning. The real question was how to tell which one it is was without offending them if they were watching him, he was sure that neither one would ever forgive him if he called out the wrong name. Stretching languorously against the rough sheets, he let a satisfied moan leave his lips in the hopes that whoever it was that he was with would make their presence known. Silence greeted him, and he rolled over, intending to scan the room, when overwhelming drowsiness once again overtook him.

Tenzou had been trailing after Gai and the two wax clones for a just over a day and a half now and he was absolutely positive that it was in fact the real Gai he was following and not simply a third clone. Whenever the other two went into the bushes to relieve themselves, there was never any concrete evidence left behind. Gai on the other hand, not only left irrefutable proof that he was a living human being, but also seemed to be aware that he was being watched and was being what Tenzou could only describe as careless. All he needed to do now was make himself known to the other man and then somehow convince him that he was indeed the real Tenzou as well. He strongly suspected this was going to be easier in theory than practice.

The feeling of being watched, even in his most private moments, was doing something decidedly odd to Gai’s physiology. His heart rate had increased, he was sweating more, and he was hyper aware of everything around him. It was similar to the way he felt when he was watching Kakashi train by himself. Breathing deeply to try and centre himself, he decided to make his move, he needed to find out who was watching him before it drove him mad. Telling the two known clones that he was going to the creek to wash up, he turned his back on them and moved carefully between the trees. Idly, he ran his fingers over the bark as he picked his way forwards, thinking that perhaps Tenzou might try and contact him using field sign, if it was indeed the wood user tailing him.

Caught up in an erotic dream, Kakashi writhed sinuously on the bed. He had kicked the sheets off already and his naked body was glistening with sweat. He shuddered as phantom hands stroked down his abdomen and moaned as his dream lover kissed him passionately. Looking up he noticed that his partners’ face kept wavering, one moment it was Gai and the next it was Tenzou, but since this was a dream, it didn’t worry him and he moaned both names indiscriminately, begging for more. The ninja sitting on the little stool beside the bed noted down each and every word that fell from the copy-nin’s bare lips, smiling at the captive’s obvious arousal and ready to scrape up the end results of that arousal when the time was right.

When Gai walked past, on his way to the creek, Tenzou nearly yelped aloud as trailing fingers stroked across his thighs. Of course, in his disguise as a tree there was no way that Gai could have known it was him, but that didn’t stop his heart from thumping any less frantically. He followed the tai-jutsu specialist with his eyes as the other man walked up the water’s edge and crouched down to wash his face. Tenzou took the opportunity, whilst the man was distracted, to emerge from the tree, kunai already drawn in case his suppositions were incorrect. When he was still a safe distance away, he deliberately scuffed his sandal against the ground to announce his presence and prepared to defend himself.

Gai had been wondering when his shadow would make himself known. Palming several shuriken in case the other was hostile, he turned to face the man. It was either Tenzou or another perfect replica of the wood user, although he strongly doubted that this was so. Gai was tempted to fling the weapons in his hands anyway, he could always claim afterwards that he hadn’t been able to tell the difference, and it would mean his main rival for Kakashi’s affections would be out of the way. Slamming a lid on his jealousy, Gai rose up out of his crouch and very obviously put his weapons away. Opposite him, Tenzou did the same, and then the man smiled happily at him before asking him what they should do about the wax clones. 

Kakashi awoke to the sound of passionate moaning, and a rough voice calling out more. Debating the pros and cons of opening his eyes, he felt out with his other senses, trying to work out where he was and where the moaning was coming from. When the voice called out for Gai though, his eyes shot open. It hadn’t been Tenzou’s voice that he’d heard, but it was still awfully familiar. Darting his eyes around the room, which was revealed to be little more than a bare cell containing only the bed he was lying on and toilet facilities, Kakashi focused immediately on the screen mounted onto the wall beyond the bars containing him. On it Kakashi could see himself, naked and aroused, lying on this same bed and moaning for both Gai and Tenzou.

Nodding his agreement to the plan, Tenzou slowly stepped back into the tree’s wooden embrace, whilst Gai stepped past him and headed back into the camp where the two wax clones were awaiting his return. They had agreed that Gai would continue to pretend ignorance and see where the clones took him, whilst Tenzou would continue to shadow them and provide any assistance required should things become ugly. With any luck, they would find Kakashi somewhere along the way as well, with his sharingan he would easily be able to tell that they were real and not wax clones. The only downside to their plan, was that they would only be able to meet up and compare notes whenever Gai had to relieve himself, but then, they had both been in far more embarrassing situations than this one promised to be.

Lying on his side with his feet to the fire and his back to the Kakashi clone, whilst the cloned Tenzou took first watch above them, Gai stared sleeplessly out into the moonlit darkness. Somewhere out there, well hidden within one of the nearby trees, the real Tenzou was silently watching over him, keeping him safe, whilst the real Kakashi was who knew where. He desperately hoped that his Eternal Rival was still alive and sleeping well tonight; he liked to think that should anything fatal ever happen to the copy-ninja then he would know it deep in his soul. It was soppy and romantic, but Gai still hoped that it was true. Squeezing his eyes tightly shut and clasping his hands together, Gai sent out a heartfelt prayer for Kakashi’s safety. 

The video was on a loop and Kakashi had already seen it at least five or six times now, not that it was any less humiliating this time around. Endless scenes of him writhing and begging for his teammates, close ups of him shooting onto his own stomach as he fondled himself, and of course, his naked face contorted into a variety of ecstatic expressions. It was the worst thing he’d ever seen as well as the most arousing, and the fact that he was being turned on by witnessing his own wet dreams was absolutely torturous. Even rolling over so that he couldn’t see the screen didn’t help because he could still hear his own high-pitched keening noises as he roughly fingered himself, bringing himself to a peak in an obscenely short amount of time. His ass pulsed pleasurably every time this particular scene was played.

Tenzou blinked at the decidedly odd sensation of talking face to face with a man who was relieving himself on the very tree that Tenzou was hiding in. He had nothing to report, aside from the fact that nothing suspicious had occurred. It was hard to decide if their quarry was onto them and trying to lure them into a false sense of security, or whether the enemy thought that their plan was working beautifully and were themselves feeling falsely secure. Unable to help stealing a quick glance at Gai’s groin as the man looked down to zip himself up, Tenzou could feel his cheeks burning at his own temerity. Just because every other muscle in Gai’s body was super-toned, did not mean that particular muscle would be as well, and Tenzou certainly shouldn’t be checking.

The feeling that he was pissing on Tenzou’s feet was endlessly amusing and Gai was hard pressed not to smirk in the other man’s face as they conversed. There was definitely something afoot though, the two wax clones had been talking together more than they had been, and they were being far more thorough in erasing all signs of their presence. Tenzou had done some limited scouting and revealed that there was some kind of facility hidden in one of the rocky hills surrounding them. He hadn’t been able to do much more than certify that the facility was in use before he’d had to return, but it was definitely a good sign. All they had to decide now was whether Gai should remain in the presence of the clones, or whether they should just dispose of the known enemy now and take their chances in the facility.


	4. Buffed Pt 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone is creating wax clones and using them to attack Konoha. Gai, Kakashi and Tenzou have been given a mission to find out who it is and put a stop to it.

Title: Buffed pt4  
Author: chibi-zoe  
Series: Naruto  
Pairing: Gai + Kakashi + Tenzou  
Rating: M  
Summary: Someone is creating wax clones and using them to attack Konoha. Gai, Kakashi and Tenzou have been given a mission to find out who it is and put a stop to it.

Sitting with his back pressed against a large tree, Gai waited for Tenzou’s signal. They had chosen, after much consideration, to take out the known wax clones before they reached the hidden facility that Tenzou had found, and hope that Kakashi was not killed due to their actions. The risks involved with continuing to pretend ignorance about Gai’s ‘companions’ was too great. If both of his teammates were captured, then Tenzou would be hard pressed to rescue them both, and if he failed, then there would be no warning for Konoha. The citizens would be killed by the likenesses of their loved ones, not even raising their hands to defend themselves. This way, they stood a better chance of finding the one who was behind this, and removing them from the face of the world.

Moving through the trees towards Gai’s waiting form, Tenzou ran over the details of their plans in his head one more time, most of what they preparing to do relied heavily on his own mastery of wood jutsu, with Gai’s incredible taijutsu to back him up if anything went awry. His thoughts lingered on his sempai, hoping that he was if not safe, then at least alive. With a dash of luck, they would be able to locate Kakashi within the next 24 hours, free him, and be planning out how to put a permanent stop to the wax user. All he needed to do was concentrate fully on his jutsu and trust Gai to protect him, and all would be well. Sliding softly into the tree that was supporting Gai, Tenzou took a moment to enjoy the sensation of the well built ninja leaning against him, before reaching out and brushing his finger down Gai’s sleeve in greeting.

The unusual torture method being employed by his captor was being unexpectedly successful, and Kakashi felt ready to crack at any moment. He would have thought that after all of the porn that he read, and watched, would have left him immune to any kind of erotically-themed torture methods, but there was something about seeing himself as the star, that was needling his psyche. Humiliation at hearing those pleading sounds dripping from his lips, coupled with the unbearable sight of his own bared face contorted into ecstasy, were sapping away at his self-control, leaving him feeing oddly fragile and far too brittle. So far he had resisted the powerful urge to bang uselessly against the bars and demand that they stop the video, but he was rapidly reaching his limit. 

Gai watched wordlessly, whilst trying to maintain his breathing and bearing, as Tenzou subtlety manipulated the greenery around the two apparently sleeping wax clones. They weren’t stirring, which Gai wasn’t sure was necessarily a good thing. They might be lying there dormant, or they might really be lying there with their eyes closed and their chests rising and falling in the age-old rhythm of sleep with their minds totally alert. If it was the latter, then they were going to be in big trouble, unless Tenzou had something extra special up his sleeves. Gai himself was ready for a fight regardless. The stress of pretending that nothing was wrong had been eating away at him like a malignant disease, and only strenuous physical activity was going to cure him. 

Tenzou carefully positioned his wooden arsenal all around the wax clones of himself and Kakashi, even going so far as to have the shoots of poisonous vines underground and ready to shoot upwards. It was hard work doing everything slowly and carefully, but the end results would hopefully be worth it. Taking a deep breath, he indicated to Gai that he was ready, and then with a quiet hand motion, all hell broke loose. His wooden spears did their job, as did his poisonous vines and thorny brambles. The clones were apparently merely dormant rather than simply biding their time until awoken for their shift as sentry. Soon, pieces of wax littered the clearing, but to Tenzou if felt as if they had given up too soon, there hadn’t really been any fight in them, not like the first time.

Curled into a ball on his bed, with his fingers childishly plugging his ears, Kakashi tried to remind himself that it wasn’t his fault, and that if he could just outlast his tormenter, then he could find a way to escape. He was still yet to see anyone, and so far, the only food that had been delivered to him, when he was fitfully asleep, was a thin broth in a waxed-paper cup. Kakashi had drunk it down hungrily, even knowing that there was a sedative contained within it was not enough to stop him. He tried to use his limited knowledge of medical jutsu, poison jutus in particular, to minimise the effects of the drug on his body, but he wasn’t familiar enough with it to be able to accurately tell if he really succeeded or not. At least it meant that he got some uninterrupted sleep.

Frowning at the waxy mess that the clearing had become, Gai turned to look Tenzou in the eye. The other ninja looked just as confused as he did. There should’ve been a vicious battle for survival, not this near-capitulation that left his body crying out for bloody violence. Idly twitching his fingers and toes, Gai scowled at the thought that their opponent clearly knew Ninja well, knew that they would be able to tell the difference between a real person and a wax clone after sufficient exposure, knew that they would automatically plot and plan in the dark to overthrow the fakes, and knew that a bloodless end to such a scheme would be sure to drive them wild and make them careless. As it was, Gai felt an overwhelming urge to single-handedly take on the hidden facility and see who it was tugging on his strings.

Breathing deeply as he tried to control both his blood-lust and frustration, Tenzou idly grasped Gai’s hand in his own, needing something to ground him and remind him of why it was a bad idea to storm the hidden facility and take Kakashi back by force. He had run across this type of terrorist before, ones who carefully took into account their victims instinctive actions and reactions, understanding the effects of adrenaline on the brain. But having met them before didn’t make this time any easier. Sweat broke out on his forehead as he forced himself to calm down, and he cast a quick look at his companion. Gai had a grimace of concentration on his angular face and his bowl cut was ruffled, as if Gai had run his hand through it in pure frustration. Tenzou gently squeezed the fingers twined with his, and smiled grimly.

Washing the sweat from his body, Kakashi tilted his head until his face was under the warm stream. Compared to many other dungeons that he’d been in over his lifetime, this one was practically a five-star hotel, and for the hundredth time, he wondered what purpose there was in keeping him here. The hideous video was still showing, still driving him nuts, but he couldn’t see what the point of it was. No one had been to see him, to offer him terms or even to taunt him. He had no way of knowing how long he’d been here, as there was no window and the harsh fluorescent lights were always on, and he didn’t even know if Gai and Tenzou were alive and well, or whether they were being subjected to the same torture in identical little cells somewhere else in the facility.

Creeping towards the hidden facility with Tenzou at his side, and moving so slowly and cautiously that he felt that they weren’t actually making any real progress, Gai tried to look in sixteen different directions all at once. His best friend and rival was most likely in there somewhere, and the sooner that they got to him the better, as long as it wasn’t as fellow prisoners. So far, they hadn’t met any resistance, not so much as a guard on watch, and it was setting Gai’s teeth on edge in a dangerous way. Either this facility was unused, or their quarry was insanely sure of themselves. Or possibly, they had already been detected, and they were in fact creeping into a trap that was going to spring shut in a highly unpleasant manner at the least opportune moment possible.

There was a trap ahead of them, Tenzou was sure of it. Placing a restraining hand on Gai’s beautifully sculpted bicep, he released a tiny wood jutsu that would tell him if there was any large, inorganic, material ahead of them. Sure enough, there were what appeared to be six wax clones guarding the entrance, clearly well hidden as Tenzou wouldn’t have known that they were there without the aid of his jutsu. Nodding his head and using field sign, he indicated to Gai that they should circle around and see if there were any other, non-guarded points of access. The fact that this facility was underground told Tenzou that there would be ventilations shafts somewhere, they just had to locate them, and work their way past the static traps that were sure to be plentiful. It was still better than alerting the entire facility that they were there by engaging the guards in a fight.

Kakashi was incredibly hungry. It seemed an age since he had last been fed his unsatisfying broth, and now there was a cupful in front of him, tantalising his nostrils with its heartiness. It was also drugged, and much more heavily than the last cup, and also with a substance that Kakashi was entirely unfamiliar with. He hesitated yet again, and his head swam with the desire to give in and sip. Picking up the cup carefully, his hands shook, creating little ripples across the surface, and his heart rate sped up as he raised the cup to his lips and took a small sip. His stomach raged at him, wanting more, and at the same time his mind seethed at the knowledge that he was willingly imbibing an unknown drug. Not feeling any immediate adverse reactions, Kakashi took another small sip, and then another, and before he knew it, the cup was empty. Looking down at the bottom of the cup, he clenched his fist abruptly, crushing the fragile cup.

Gai wriggled and resisted the urge to swear as he tried to force his body through the narrow aperture. It was a tight enough fit for Tenzou, although it would’ve been easy for Kakashi, and Gai was experiencing major difficulties. However, directly below them was some kind of laboratory, probably the purpose of the entire facility, and if they could just decipher who was using it and why, then they should be able to sabotage it, find and free Kakashi, and then finish off the wax user. Pushing with his feet fruitlessly, Gai realised that he was wedged yet again, and softly gained Tenzou’s attention. The wood user was already dismantling the traps surrounding the vent, but he acknowledged Gai’s predicament, before turning back to his task. It was a good thing that Gai was not claustrophobic, or he would be at panic stations by now, wedged tight in the narrow shaft.

Finally, the last of the traps was disarmed, and Tenzou set about removing the vent, after checking for the fifth time that there was really no one down there. Balancing on the edge of the hole, he turned back to look up at Gai, who was stuck fast in the ventilation shaft. Reaching up carefully, Tenzou grasped a hold of Gai’s extended hands and pulled. At first nothing happened so Tenzou redoubled his efforts, using his own body weight as ballast. It was probably wasn’t the brightest thing that he’d ever done, using his entire body like that whilst perched over a hole leading into a laboratory. When Gai finally came unstuck, he did so with a vengeance, barrelling into Tenzou and catapulting them both into the laboratory. Luckily they didn’t hit anything made of glass, but the force of impact left Tenzou totally breathless beneath Gai’s sprawled bulk.

For the first time since he had lost consciousness in the forest, Kakashi saw another person. Admittedly, thanks to the strange drug that he’d drunk, the person was hazy and kept splitting into two people before merging back into one. Kakashi wished that he could rub his eyes, but his limbs felt so heavy that he was afraid that he’d break his face if he wasn’t careful. Lying there, nearly helpless, he watched as the person first turned off the TV, bringing blessed silence to the room, and then cautiously approached him. A real second person then appeared and helped to hold him down as a drip line was carefully inserted into the back of his hand. He only had a moment to wonder what it was that they were going to do to him before the world started to fade out of focus and he passed out.

Tenzou’s body felt remarkably good beneath his own, but Gai forced himself to his feet and then leant forwards to offer the other ninja a hand up. Looking around at the items in the lab, Gai wondered what it was all for. He could see microscopes, test-tubes and lots of other vaguely familiar paraphernalia, but he had no idea what it was all designed to do. The look of confusion on Tenzou’s face clearly said that the wood user was equally confused, which on one had made Gai feel better about his own ignorance, but on the other it meant that it would be harder to sabotage the process of whatever was happening here. Suddenly, there was strange noise from the corridor outside. Tenzou leant up to quickly put the vent back into place and Gai found somewhere for them to hide.

Squeezed into the tiny cupboard with Gai was making Tenzou’s heart pound. He was sure that the other nin could feel it and he tried not to shift against the larger man. There was no light around the edge of the cupboard door, so he and Gai had no idea what was happening outside. The door to the lab had definitely opened however, and there was the sound of people walking around, probably three people. There was a groan, and then the sound of baby crying, before muffled sucking noises filled the air. Tenzou would’ve given much to be able to see what was happening out there. Then he heard it, a groan so familiar that even the other noises couldn’t block it out. It was Kakashi’s and he was in dreadful agony. Only Gai’s hand on his arm prevented him from breaking out and killing everyone who was causing his sempai pain.

The sound of a baby crying forced its way into Kakashi’s conscious, and he struggled to open eyelids as heavy as lead. A sharp pain in his finger helped rather a lot, before small lips closed over the wound and a dreadful sucking sensation began. He could feel his life-force being drained agonisingly away, and he was helpless to stop it. Trying vainly to force his body into action, he finally managed to get a groan to pass his frozen lips, but his limbs still refused to respond. The sucking finally stopped after what seemed to be an age, and Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief; there was no way he wanted to die in such an ignoble way. His eyelids finally responded too, and he looked up to see a darkly shrouded person pick up the baby and turn it towards the light. Kakashi’s heart thudded in his chest. The baby looked just like him, but with blood dribbling from its tiny mouth.


End file.
